Birthday Present
by They Call Me A Number
Summary: Xena has a birthday present for Gabrielle. Too bad Gabrielle has to be kept waiting for it.


**AN:** Ok, so. I generally don't write smut that often, at least not until I've written a ton of other fics for the couple in question so I have a really good hang of their characterization and stuff like that. But this was begging to be written, and I had to obey. Hopefully you guys enjoy, and if you can give me any advice on my smut writing, I'd appreciate it!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Xena

* * *

Gabrielle, as much as she loved to celebrate another year alive, had almost come to dread her birthday when Xena was involved.

It was a tradition started by her stepfather, Xena had explained that first year, one of the few he had tried to implement once he had joined the family. A day of pranks to remind you to grin through the embarrassing and bad that life could throw at you, with presents as the reward at the end to remind you the good in life was all worth it. Although he hadn't been her stepfather for long- only three years before an infection took him- it was one of the few things that Xena, who had really liked the man, kept with her.

It was something she tried to include everyone in, not just Gabrielle. The one year they had been in the neighborhood for Hercules' birthday, she had convinced the locals to treat him like a villain, with a pretend manhunt and everything to drive him crazy trying to figure out what had gone wrong, only for it to all end in the local tavern with food and drink and merriment. Every year, Xena sent a prank gift to her mother to arrive early with the real one arriving later, just to annoy Cyrene (and every year they were hunted down by a determined messenger who had been paid a week's wages in advance, with another week waiting for his return, just to yell at Xena in Cyrene's place). Even Joxer was occasionally brought in on the tradition, though with him it was harder- the poor man's natural bad luck made it hard to determine what was a prank and what was a normal twist of fate, though he always did have a good time later in the night when Xena pointed out which was which.

It was a cute, mostly harmless tradition, and except for those few times when Xena had taken it a bit too far, Gabrielle enjoyed herself, even though she greatly dreaded the day it was her turn to be on the receiving end.

A day she had been counting down for the last week with a knot in her stomach, watching every move Xena made in a desperate attempt to figure out what the warrior had planned. She had almost been relieved when Xena had said they would be staying in the town they had found themselves in for the next couple of night; Xena, as much as she loved her chaos, would never purposefully do anything to harm someone's livelihood (at least now a days), so that made most of the pranks Gabrielle had dreamed up out of the running. But still she knew Xena had something planned for the day, and Gabrielle was not looking forward to it.

"Gabrielle, wake up."

Xena's voice was soft in her ear, gently coaxing Gabrielle to open the eyes she had been forcing shut, hoping that, maybe, if she pretended to be asleep, Xena would put off whatever she had planned. A pipe dream, of course- Xena never let her sleep much past sunrise, no matter how late the two of them went to bed (which, lately especially, had been very, very late, since their nocturnal activities had been keeping them from sleep). Though normally when Xena woke her up, it was roughly, the blankets pulled from the bedroll to expose her to the freezing air, or a bucket of water upended over her when the weather was warm. This was soft, gentle, an almost whisper brushing against her ear while Xena ran her hand up and down Gabrielle's side.

Gabrielle was instantly suspicious, and when Xena spoke again, she answered, a tired, sleepy murmurer to give the appearance of recent consciousness. Rolling over, Gabrielle pressed her face into Xena's neck, nuzzling the skin, placing a quick kiss against the underside of her jaw- if she could distract the warrior princess, perhaps Xena would get too caught up in other activities to remember the pranks.

"Come on, Gabrielle," Xena said, chuckling as she slid out of bed, reaching for her cloth under-shift to cover herself with. "I have a big day planned, so rise and shine. It's your birthday, you know." She looked over her shoulder, casting an almost smirk at the bard, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Gabrielle was almost scared. But not scared enough to try and fight the inevitable, so she slide out of bed and pulled on her own clothing, crossing to the basin to wash her face and rinse her mouth with the herbal drink they mixed each night to seep until morning, to remove the sour taste of sleep from their tongues.

She was about to take a sip when she caught Xena watching her, a strange look in her eyes. Almost dropping the cup, Gabrielle quickly put it down and backed away, staring at the concoction suspiciously.

"What did you do to it, Xena?"

"Nothing," Xena said, rolling her eyes as she walked over and picked up the cup herself, swirling her mouthful around until she deemed her teeth clean enough. Spitting into the bucket that sat next to the basin, she reached over and picked up Gabrielle's comb, waving it in front of the bard before beginning to brush her own locks. "Believe me, Gabrielle, you'll know when I pull my prank. So just relax, will you? And don't worry, I'm not touching anything edible this year. I learned that lesson last year with Toris."

Gabrielle couldn't help but giggle at the memory of poor Toris' birthday: Xena had decided to spike Toris' drink with some helbane they had bought from a merchant, and the prank hadn't gone over well. Turns out, while she herself just became giggly and hallucinated, it made Xena's family very, very ill. Which was good to know for the warrior, especially since she had never eaten it before, but a bad discovery overall. Poor Toris had been blotchy, swollen, and feverish for the entire day, and the only thing keeping Xena alive for ruining her brother's birthday had been the fact that Cyrene had been in the same condition. The two of them had had to nurse them back to health, and Xena had gotten an earful once her mother's voice had returned.

"Here," Xena said, tossing the comb to Gabrielle. She quickly inspected it- it didn't look like it had been tampered with, but you could never be too safe on your birthday when Xena was around. She quickly yanked the comb through her hair, ignoring the usual care she put into her locks in lieu of being able to put the comb to the side without arousing suspicion. Her hair taken care of (sort of), she returned to the basin and washed her mouth with the drink, her relief at the normal mint taste almost pitiful.

She just couldn't trust Xena. Any other day, and she would gladly and willingly lay her body, heart, and soul in Xena's capable hands. But today? Today Xena was on the same list as Ares and Aphrodite when she was drunk: people to never, ever trust.

"So," Gabrielle said slowly after she had spit out the herbal mix and washed the sleep from her face, drying her skin on the cloth the innkeeper had had draped over a nearby bar for them. "What do you have planned for today, Xena?"

"This."

Before Gabrielle could respond, Xena had closed the distance between them, pressing Gabrielle's back against the wall, trapping her between the wood and her body. Leaning down, Xena ever so slightly brushed her lips against Gabrielle's neck, the tip of her tongue darting out to lick her pulse before pulling back and straightening up, her head tilted down to stare Gabrielle in the eyes. The same look from before, one that Gabrielle was only now close enough (and free from suspicion enough) to recognize- lust and amusement and the same look she got whenever she thought up one of her crazy plans to defeat a warlord- shinning in her eyes, leaving Gabrielle terrified and oh so excited for what her lover had planned.

Xena continued to explore Gabrielle's skin with her lips, her hands coming up to undo the laces Gabrielle had just finished fixing not long ago, the bright green top sliding down her arms and to the ground as Xena's hands cleared the path for her mouth. Gabrielle sighed, arching into the touch as Xena brushed her lips against the top of Gabrielle's breasts, one hand cupping the left as the other hand reached down and toyed with the top of Gabrielle's skirt, pushing it down slightly so her fingers could run over the skin on her hips.

"Leathers off. Now."

Xena chuckled against Gabrielle's chest at the command and rose, putting space between them as she obeyed, pulling the leathers off over her head and throwing them somewhere to the side. Reaching out with both hands, Xena pressed down on Gabrielle's skirt, watching with a hungry gaze as the second half of the outfit fell to the ground without resistance.

Before Gabrielle could fully appreciate the situation- she had woken up expecting a day of torture, and was instead being rewarded with birthday sex- Xena had returned to her spot, pressing her thigh between Gabrielle's to get the bard to spread her legs, opening herself to Xena's searching fingers. Capturing her lips in a kiss, Xena lightly circled Gabrielle's clit, swallowing the moans she coaxed out of the younger woman. Pulling away, Xena returned her mouth to Gabrielle's neck, sucking on the skin just hard enough to redden it, to bring forward the blush she longed to see, but not enough to bruise.

Slipping her fingers inside, replacing them with her thumb on Gabrielle's clit, Xena thrust hard into Gabrielle, smirking at the high pitched keen that followed as Gabrielle angled her hips better for more, rocking herself hard on Xena's hand, her hands scrambling for purchase somewhere, anywhere, that would steady her.

She was already close after just a few minutes, her every nerve on fire as Xena thrust into her, her thumb hard on her clit. Gabrielle clung to her, nails clawing at Xena's shoulders, her teeth sunk into her neck, trying to hold in the scream she could feel building in her throat. Every movement sent her spiraling higher, closer to her release- Xena's hand inside her, using her thigh to press harder and harder into her, Xena's free one kneading her breast, Xena's lips pressed against her forehead in an almost soothing touch; everything about Xena was too much. Gabrielle could feel herself clenching around her lover's hand, close, so close, the thin thread inside her just about to snap-

And Xena stopped, ripping a heartbreaking whine from Gabrielle's throat as she withdrew her hand from between Gabrielle's legs, a low chuckle ringing in Gabrielle's ears as she did. Before Gabrielle could do anything more than make another noise of protest, Xena slipped away, licking her fingers clean as she did, leaving the birthday girl leaning heavily against the wall, her legs shaking almost too hard to hold her.

"Xena, what-"

"It's your birthday," Xena reminded her with a wink, picking up and slipping on the leathers she had had relieved herself of earlier. "A day of pranks before you get your present."

"Are you kidding me," Gabrielle asked in a dead voice, her hand quickly finding its way between her legs. She was close, so close, it would only take a minute to finish what Xena had so rudely left hanging. Her head tilting back as her fingers made contact with her clit, Gabrielle moaned-

And almost screamed as Xena grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away, bringing Gabrielle's hand up to her mouth, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"If you want tonight to happen," Xena said, her voice low, sensual, almost rippling with pure sexuality, "then you'll keep your hands to yourself and get dressed." Nipping the tips of Gabrielle's fingers, Xena moved away once again, to the other side of their room so she could pull on her armor.

For a single moment Gabrielle considered it. Xena wouldn't stop her again- she had given her an ultimatum, and when Xena laid the cards out on the table, she didn't change her mind. Either Gabrielle could finish herself now, give herself the aching relief her body longed for now, or she could wait and see what Xena had planned for tonight. Which, from her past experiences, would be better than anything Gabrielle could do now on such short notice.

Whining softly, ignoring the pleased smirk Xena shot towards her, Gabrielle grabbed her clothes and a cloth to dry her thighs before walking over to the bed, keeping her back turned towards Xena as she angrily cleaned herself up and got dressed. Shooting a glare at her lover, the bard stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her as she went down to the main room of the inn to see if any breakfast had survived.

Xena's peal of laughter rang out behind her, only infuriating the bard even more as she felt her loincloth begin to dampen.

* * *

If Xena didn't fuck her soon, Gabrielle was sure she was going to murder someone. Or die herself, whichever came first.

The entire day Xena had been teasing her, keeping Gabrielle on edge with almost careless touches and words and looks, all delivered with that signature smirk of Xena's that told Gabrielle it was all on purpose. An affectionate nuzzle of her neck while they were shopping; a whispered compliment about how good the dress Gabrielle was holding up would look on her and how it would be even better on the floor; a chance look between them while Xena licked a light coating of grease from her fingers at lunch. It was all like it was planned, every moment pre-chosen to keep her core hot and clit throbbing, leaving her thighs uncomfortably damp.

Otherwise the day was lovely. Xena surprised her with a new bolt of fabric she had been eyeing a few towns ago so she could make a new outfit and a bag that matched, the shades of green just only slightly off. They treated themselves to a sweet milk and ice mixture from a cart they stumbled upon while exploring the market- a delicious treat, even if Xena did use her tongue to remove the small dribble that had made its way to Gabrielle's chin. When it started to grow dark, Xena led her out of town to a nearby flower farm, where a picnic dinner waited for them at sunset.

It was a beautiful day, but Gabrielle wanted nothing more than to get back to the inn and finish what they had started that morning.

Xena couldn't help but chuckle as Gabrielle practically pushed her into their room at the inn, slamming and locking the door behind them. When she turned back around, though, her laughter died in her throat at the look on Gabrielle's face.

It was almost feral, and Xena returned a grin just as fierce as she closed the distance between them.

The kiss- if it could even be called that, for it was almost more teeth and tongue then actual lips- almost hurt. Gabrielle poured an entire day's frustrations into it, her hand tangling themselves into Xena's hair and yanking hard, her leg forcing itself between Xena's so she could straddle her thigh and let her lover feel just how wet she was. Everything about her screamed desperation and a willingness to participate in whatever Xena had planned.

To her greater anger, Xena seemed almost unfazed. She let Gabrielle take control of the kiss, riding the high and floating with the changes as they arrived, thoroughly unconcerned. She hummed when Gabrielle yanked her hair, as if her girlfriend was just massaging her scalp in the bath. And all Xena did was flex her thigh so Gabrielle could have a greater surface to grind against.

When they pulled away from each other, Gabrielle was practically panting, her body almost shaking. Xena, looking as if she had just been taking a pleasant stroll through a windy park, just grinned once against and scooped the bard into her arm, laughing at Gabrielle's little squeak as she did so, and carried her to bed.

It only took a moment, after Xena had placed Gabrielle on the mattress, to get both of them undressed, Gabrielle almost tearing her clothes in her excitement while Xena calmly followed. Crawling onto the bed, settling herself between Gabrielle's thighs as they fell open to accommodate her, her elbows bearing the brunt of her weight, Xena placed a quick kiss onto Gabrielle's nose, her hands coming up to cup her face before leaning down to kiss her once again.

This time it was slow, Xena controlling the pace and refusing to let Gabrielle take over. Their tongues unhurriedly moving against each other, Xena shifted her weight onto one side to let one hand wander, moving from Gabrielle's face to her neck, neck to chest, staying a moment to play with the hardened nipple it found there until Gabrielle squirmed beneath her, only to move on quickly after to rest on her stomach. Pulling away, Xena kissed every part of Gabrielle's face she could reach, making the bard giggle with kisses on the sides of her nose before returning to her lips. Kissing her once, twice, three times, Xena pushed herself onto her forearm, gazing down at her love while her other hand drew swirls on Gabrielle's stomach, smiling softly at the twitching muscles.

"Are you ready for your present, Gabrielle," Xena asked softly, a small chuckle pulling itself from her as Gabrielle nodded enthusiastically, not trusting her tongue to speak. Leaning down once more, Xena caught Gabrielle's mouth for another kiss, nipping at her lip as her hand moved down- down across the tense, quivering skin and muscles of her lower stomach, down through the downy blonde curls that covered her, down and into the warm wetness that waited, two fingers easily sliding into Gabrielle's cunt while Xena's thumb came to rest on her clit.

Even though Xena didn't move, it felt like paradise, as if the Fields had taken her early to her rest. Rocking her hips, Gabrielle groaned as Xena continued to hold perfectly still, letting Gabrielle fuck herself on her hand, the only movements the warrior made slight adjustments of her wrist when Gabrielle's hips jerks unexpectedly hard. Leaning down, Xena fastened her lips to Gabrielle's pulse, kissing and licking and worrying the skin until a dark bruise appeared, her actions only making Gabrielle's noises louder and sharper, loud enough to be heard from across the room, despite the bard's clear attempts to be quite.

They weren't in the middle of the woods, where the only victims of Gabrielle's noises were the wild animals and the occasional thief who tried to take them off guard. Here, there were people, people who would know exactly what was going on and be pissed if they couldn't get to sleep.

So Gabrielle bit her lip and tried, semi-unsuccessfully, to keep quiet. Only to almost cry when Xena pulled her hand away, resting it instead on Gabrielle's rocking hips to stop her, Xena's wet fingers leaving a throbbing mark on her skin that went straight to her clit.

"I want to hear you, Gabrielle," Xena whispered, her lips tracing Gabrielle's jawline as she spoke, the hand she had been supporting herself on curling in to play with the tips of Gabrielle's hair. "Don't worry about anyone else," she quickly said, as if reading Gabrielle's mind and discovering her worries about their neighbors. "Leave everyone else to me. I want you too hoarse to speak tomorrow, love," she added, nipping the line of her chin, "and you won't be if I can't hear you."

When Gabrielle nodded desperately, whispering over and over again that she'd make noise, make as much as Xena wanted so long as her hand went back between her legs, Xena just smiled and pulled her hand away from where it rested on Gabrielle's hip, running the tips of her fingers between her folds to wet them once again. Bringing that hand up, she drew a line down Gabrielle's chest with her wetness, quickly following that line with her tongue so she could taste her love. Silently chuckling at the deep moan that vibrated through Gabrielle, Xena returned her hand between Gabrielle's legs.

"Keep your hips as still as you can," she demanded, fingers poised at Gabrielle's entrance, thumb hovering over her clit. "I want to do the work. Just enjoy it."

Without waiting for confirmation that Gabrielle had heard, Xena pressed in, curling her fingers to massage the spongy tissue on Gabrielle's front wall while her thumb pressed hard against her clit, using the slick that had spread there to easily circle the nub.

With how riled up Gabrielle had been for the entire day, it didn't take long before she came, her entire body going tense as Xena worked her, her mouth continuing to mark her neck as her hand moved, her fingers curling with every gentle trust and her thumb working the lightest pressure onto her, almost teasing touches that had driven her wild, making Gabrielle use every ounce of willpower she had to keep her hips still. Meaning she had none left to withhold the gasps and moans and whimpers Xena drew from her, nothing within her that could hold back Xena's name hissed through gritted teeth as she teetered on that edge, nothing to quiet the almost scream as she came.

Lying there, floating in the post-orgasmic bliss, Gabrielle was aware of Xena kissing her and her kissing back, but only for a moment. Then the almost overwhelming warmth Xena had been giving off was gone, Gabrielle groaning in displeasure at the disappearance. Her arm reaching out, her eyes half opening, Gabrielle was about to force herself to speak when the warmth reappeared- right between her legs.

At the first, gently pressure of Xena's tongue on Gabrielle's clit, lightning raced back through the bard, driving away the fog so a fire could take its place, another moan escaping her mouth as Xena began to lap at her slit, using her tongue almost like a cat would use its' to clean her. Only instead of fixing the mess her hand had made, Xena only made it worse, the growing wetness between Gabrielle's thighs spreading even more. Squirming as Xena nipped at her skin, Gabrielle couldn't bring herself to say anything, just reach down to rest her hands on Xena's head.

It was a miracle she could breathe, much less speak, and even though she was slightly tender, Gabrielle pushed aside the slight discomfort as Xena's tongue slipped inside of her, thrusting as far in as it could to fully taste her. Even with Xena's arm pressed against her hips to hold her steady she couldn't help but squirm, everything too much all at once.

Xena replaced her tongue with her fingers and returned her tongue to Gabrielle's clit, and for the second time that night she screamed, this time the words unintelligible as her mind froze, unable to do anything other than enjoy the wave crashing over her, the tremors running through her for who knows how long as Xena kept going, helping her work through the high with slowly slowing movements, keeping her from crashing back down to earth too soon.

Gabrielle could taste herself on her lips as Xena crawled back up to curl around her, kissing her soundly after licking as much as Gabrielle's wetness from her mouth. Even though every muscle in her body screamed at her to sleep, Gabrielle's hand moved from where it had been clenching the bed to Xena's breast, kneading the flesh as she tried to roll them over.

Chuckling, Xena pulled away, gently pushing Gabrielle's hand back to the bed before kissing her quickly.

"I'm not finished with you yet," Xena said, leaning down to nip at Gabrielle's collarbone, forcing out a slight whimper from the bard.

"But Xena, I want-"

"Tomorrow," Xena promised, kissing her way down the trail her tongue had blazed earlier, ending with her nose nuzzling the bone between Gabrielle's breast. "I paid the inn keep for a week, so we can spend all of tomorrow in bed, if that's what you want. But right now…" Xena looked up, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Right now you can still talk, so my job isn't done."

Gabrielle almost sobbed as Xena's hand returned between her legs, fingers sliding into her overly sensitive pussy while her mouth closed around a nipple, alternating between sucking hard and nipping at the skin around it. Xena did nothing to stop Gabrielle's writhing- in fact she seemed to relish it, for for every squirm she just thrust that much harder, shifting so her own legs were between Gabrielle's to keep them spread for her hand.

It was too much. Normally she had a breather when they marathoned sex, enough time in between rounds for her nerves to return to some semblance of normal before they were overloaded again, for her heart to calm and her breathing to even out before throwing her body into panic once again. That was fine, she could handle the warrior princess' stamina and lust like that, could keep up and could please the woman as well as she was pleased, but this was too much. Gabrielle couldn't think couldn't speak couldn't do anything more than dimly focus on the hand between her legs and the mouth on her breast, the other cupped in the free hand Gabrielle hadn't realized Xena had moved from her hip.

It was too much, too much, and when Gabrielle came she _screamed_ , everything too much as she released the last hold on her body and came.

Gabrielle was almost sure someone was banging on the wall nearest their bed, a muffled voice telling them to shut up and go to Tartarus. She was also almost sure that Xena slid out of bed and kicked the wall, snarling something back that had the complainer scurrying away, leaving them to their silence. She was almost sure, but couldn't quite be- nothing and everything felt real, except for the pleasant throb that was still working its way through her body, the heaviness wrapping itself around her arms and legs so she couldn't move, despite the dampness from sweat and cum that was quickly growing uncomfortable and cold beneath her. She didn't care- all she wanted was for Xena to return so she could be warm and sleep.

Xena did return, after an eternity of three seconds, scooping Gabrielle into her arms while she clumsily laid one of their travel furs on the bed, covering the spot that had been giving Gabrielle trouble the moment before. Laying her back down, Xena climbed into bed, curling around Gabrielle and happily nuzzling her neck as the bard curled back into her.

"Happy birthday, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle didn't respond- instead she just tucked her head under Xena's chin and went to sleep, safe and warm and another year older.

(The next morning, much to Xena's great amusement and Gabrielle's frustration, she actually couldn't use her voice. Whenever Gabrielle tried to speak, it came out as a pained squeak, a barely audible breath of air that sounded more like a mouse then a human.

Not that, after the first hour of them being awake, it really mattered. Xena had promised tomorrow, and Gabrielle held her to that promise. Making her mouth really too busy to worry about speaking).


End file.
